The Idlewild Effect

F

femmedirector

Active member
Does Anyone know how to do the idelwild effect. This is when the background appears to remain still although certain elements in the footage move forward and backward into space.

I have searched everywhere and I can't find a clip. I am hoping someone knows what I am talking about.
 
In camera:
If you pull back the camera on a dolly while zooming in you achieve an effect similar to what you're describing. You can also do the inverse, push the dolly in while zooming out the camera. It's a strange effect that's used quite often in films although I'm at a loss to site a single film to reference as an example.

In post:
In AE you could mimick the same effect. Animate the position of the camera along with the focal length. Note - this example would utilize graphic elements not video footage.
 
milksac said:
In camera:
If you pull back the camera on a dolly while zooming in you achieve an effect similar to what you're describing. You can also do the inverse, push the dolly in while zooming out the camera. It's a strange effect that's used quite often in films although I'm at a loss to site a single film to reference as an example.
Click to expand...
Vertigo is the one that stands out.
 
The most effective use that I've ever seen was in Poltergeist. The filmmakers pull the move just before (and as) Jobeth Williams runs to the kids' room when the s**t hits the fan in the REAL finale.
 
However many movies use the vertigo dolly/zoom. that isn't the effect he is looking for. In Idlewilde they were using static snapshots, and they cut out the characters from the background. It gives the picture new depth of field. Really cool effect that is also used a lot.
 
I don't quite think the Ken Burns effect is quite right either. I know it requires cutting out the subject from the background, and placing it on it's own layer. You'll likely have to do some patching on the background, so that you won't see the holes from what you cut out. I can't tell you what program to use, or even the best way to go about it. I can only suggest starting with Photoshop, and see where that gets you.
 
Sounds like Camera Mapping in 3D.

Easy to do in 2.5D in AE as well. Cut out your foreground elements, put them on their own layers, use the Clone Stamp and Healing Brush to rebuild the background layer, put everything as a 3D layer in AE, scale each layer to fit the original, and animate.

The beginning of the Carnivale series on HBO is a great example of that effect.

Here's a thread that has a very good example and explination:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=103178
 
Last edited:
If that's the effect you're looking for, it's a whole lot easier if you take high resolution stills (dSLR camera) of the backgrounds you want the people in front of separate from the photos of people.

You could also go the 3d camera projection route, and you can find out more about that with Video CoPilot
 
milksac said:
In camera:
If you pull back the camera on a dolly while zooming in you achieve an effect similar to what you're describing. You can also do the inverse, push the dolly in while zooming out the camera. It's a strange effect that's used quite often in films although I'm at a loss to site a single film to reference as an example.

In post:
In AE you could mimick the same effect. Animate the position of the camera along with the focal length. Note - this example would utilize graphic elements not video footage.
Click to expand...

Hey milksac is this where Spike Lee got his signature camera move from? It sounds like a remix (maybe paying homage) of the Hitchcock move. This is all new to me 2.5D and all that. We've been doing variations of this in various music videos, but I had no idea (since I don't do 3D apps yet) that there was so much interest in this. Some of the stuff y'all linked to is beautifully done. I love that WII era stuff.

Matt thanx for the background healing/smoothing tips; I've just been scaling to obscure.
 
What scene exactly are you talking about. I have the movie and can create a quick clip for educational purpose. Let me know.


femmedirector said:
Does Anyone know how to do the idelwild effect. This is when the background appears to remain still although certain elements in the footage move forward and backward into space.

I have searched everywhere and I can't find a clip. I am hoping someone knows what I am talking about.
Click to expand...
 
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